Welcome to Eighth Grade Language Arts! It will be my pleasure to work with you this year, and to create with you a challenging and co-operative environment for excellent reading, writing, and speaking. Now here are some things you will want to know about this class:

Description: This course, together with Seventh Grade Language Arts, constitutes Freshman English for Academic Center students here at Whitney Young. In Eighth Grade Language Arts we emphasize independent reading, writing skills, research, and various literary genres.

Credit and Prerequisites: Next June when you have successfully completed this course as well as Seventh Grade Language Arts, you will have earned your first full English credit here at Whitney Young. This course fulfills the prerequisite requirements for entering English II.

Learning Objectives: The most important element in our work is that human language is a joyful as well as a demanding study. Successful students in this class become more confident, competent language users. They will mature by reading widely, critically, and voluntarily, and by writing skillfully in a variety of forms. This course will cover the mandated Illinois State Goals for Eighth Grade Language Arts and Fine Arts and Ninth Grade Language Arts. These goals and standards are available online from the Illinois State Board of Education and the Chicago Board of Education. Meanwhile, here are some of my objectives: Students who successfully complete this course will be able to

We will take the Explore Test in October and the ISAT reading tests in April. Our work in class will prepare students for those exams within the larger context of a course designed to meet the needs of our very able and conscientious Academic Center students.

Learning Experiences: In this course students will

Course Outline: Although we will spend the entire year working on skills in writing, language, and literature, we will change our emphasis every four to five weeks. I will distribute a chart in class showing the order of the units, some of the materials needed, and what parents can do to help if your schedule permits.

Fees and Materials: The basic fee, $50, covers materials and the Chicago River Tour, scheduled for Thursday morning, October 4. (The smaller architecture field trips, which will cover the rest of the day on Thursday, October 4 and all of Friday, October 5, are free.) We also hope to go to the Chicago Children’s Film Festival this fall, which may require a small fee. We will be reading several books together as a class, all of which will be supplied to students. The writing and reading folders and portfolios will be provided. Every day, students are asked to bring a small pocket-sized notebook for gathering writing ideas and a book for independent reading. As soon as possible, students are also asked to bring a recipe card file, a pack of white 3x5 cards, and a set of card dividers for our vocabulary work. All class texts will be provided.

COURSE OVERVIEW:

How the Course Will Be Taught: The format of this class emphasizes small group work, dis-cussion, conferencing, and individually guided instruction.

How to Be a Successful Learner: There is homework in this class every night. As I always say, "There is always something to read, and there is always something to write." The permanent reading assignment is to read at least one half hour every night, and to keep track in the reading folder of all books read this year. Students are welcome to use our classroom library for this purpose. Periodically I will be checking in with students about their independent reading; therefore, please bring an independent reading book with you to class every day unless you are notified otherwise. The writing assignment varies, depending on the unit in which we are working; but in general students should always have a piece of writing in process which they are drafting or revising. Students will usually be asked to turn in at least six pages of work per week in this class, which will be graded in cumulative fashion. That means that not every individual piece will be separately graded. Most graded compositions will be scored according to a rubric developed collaboratively in class. The rest of the work will become part of the student's folder or portfolio, which will be collaboratively assessed at regular intervals by both the student and me. I will confer regularly with students on their progress.

Classroom Rules: Please see the WYHS Student Handbook for rules applying to classes.

Cheating: Students, please don’t cheat. It’s wrong, it interferes with your learning, and it’s very uncomfortable to get caught. I catch most of the few people who decide to cheat each year, and I do not give credit for work on which cheating has occurred, whether you are the cheater or the collaborator. Please don’t push the limits with me on this one.

Grades: In addition to the regular ten-week grading periods, you will receive detailed progress reports from me at the five-week intervals established by the school. Please check Edline for summative grades. Please ask your child for these reports. Parents are asked to pick up their children's midterm grades at school in November and April. These grades will be calculated to balance writing, reading, and language study, although the emphasis will vary as the year progresses. Grade equivalents:

Missing homework will receive an automatic grade of zero. Late homework will be accepted but not graded. Instead, I will remove the zero from the records and deduct points from the student's total grade. Encouraging student responsibility is the purpose of this rule; therefore, it will not apply in circumstances beyond the student's control, such as illness or a similar reason.

A Word of Encouragement and Offer of Help: The beginning of the school year always seems a bit overwhelming, particularly for the conscientious students who come to our Academic Center. Please be assured that I want to help students grow in their language skills in a positive, supportive atmosphere. If a problem arises, or if there is something in particular that I should know about an individual student, please tell me. I will be happy to talk to students and parents whenever possible. Students should see me to make an appointment; parents should leave a message on my voice mail at (773) 534-7502 or e-mail me at ddbloland@cps.edu.

A Few Final Notes: I will be doing some videotaping in classes this year as part of my own continuing professional development and will be sending home video permission slips for parent signatures. Thanks!

During the winter, we will have Mrs. Jennifer Higgs student teaching with us. Mrs. Higgs is a graduate student at Northwestern University, and she is very excited about working with our students.

The following page of this letter is the signature page. Parents, please sign and return it with your child to show that you have read this letter. (I will also be distributing this letter in class in case that format is more convenient for you.). The signature page also includes a signup form for our architecture field trip days on Thursday, October 4 and Friday, October 5. We need chaperones! If you can help on either day, please sign the form or just email me to let me know your availability.

I look forward to this year of achievement and creativity for us all, and I appreciate this chance to work with you.

Sincerely,

Dagny D. Bloland

 

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Student's Name______________________________________Class Period____________

Parents, please sign below and return this page to show that you have read this letter. Thanks!

DDB

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Signature Date

P.S. We need chaperones for our architecture field trips, scheduled for Thursday, October 4 and Friday, October 5. If you (or perhaps a grandparent) can donate either a morning or an afternoon (or both) to come with us, we would be very grateful. If you can come, please circle the date(s) and time(s):

Thursday, October 4 morning Friday, October 5 morning

Thursday, October 4 afternoon Friday, October 5 afternoon